Maintenance

​Do you remember the 507thMaintenance Company and it’s infamous soldier—PFC Jessica Lynch?  She was badly hurt, the sole survivor in her Humvee which crashed into a disabled truck attempting to escape an ambush.   Lynch did not fight the enemy as the media first reported.  But another fellow soldier did—PFC Patrick Miller.  He won the Silver Star for his valiant efforts and a Purple Heart.  Miller was fortunate to have survived and later as a captive to be rescued by a Marine patrol.  You see he and those who could fight almost all experienced jammed weapons.  Their rifles barely worked because they rarely cleaned and maintained them.  It had been seven months since Miller last fired his M16!  Evidently, the soldiers of the 507th took their weapons for granted.  Their primary job was to repair and maintain equipment in the rear.  They did not expect to be involved in any fighting.  

Meditation
Joshua 1:8--This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Psalm 119:93--I will never forget Your precepts, for You have given me life through them.
 
Haplessness is fed by neglect.  The men and women of the 507th knew they needed their rifles.  They just didn’t plan on having to use them so they skipped essential maintenance.  Nor did they expect to take a wrong turn that would lead right into an enemy ready to engage them.  

What things surpass the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God?  We all know that sin contaminates and that the Bible was written to help us overcome sin.  But covert sin may not be much of an issue for us.  Life may seem fairly good—free of evil as we  busy ourselves with relationships, our jobs and pleasures. Slowly, subtly we become disengaged from our relationship with God; a Word-deprived and prayerless pattern emerges. No, we don’t plan on taking wrong turns. We forget that Satan, the roaring lion, is eagerly set to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).  When trouble comes, if we are not competent and familiar with Scripture we are in effect, defenseless.
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Maintenance may seem humdrum and boring.  But God does not offer a onetime spiritual crash course for overcoming evil or understanding Him.  He expects us to regularly absorb and obey His Word because it is for our own good and protection!  So, out of reverence for God let’s gleefully make time for His holy manual—full of promises, everlasting and exceedingly powerful!
 
Inspiration
Maintain your personal relationship with God at all costs.  Never allow anything to come between your soul and God, and welcome anyone or anything that leads you to know Him better.—Oswald Chambers in Approved Unto God
 
©2003 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box. Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)